Bullying – Erik's Story (This is NOT OK). #Bullying

(Please note, I will be referring to Erik as she, because that’s how she prefers it)

Today I was directed to theTumblr blog of Iamthedavrezi, a blog about a transgendered kid named Erik who went to school last Friday dressed in cosplay of Grell Sutcliff, a popular anime character. She did it to be fun and simply because she wanted to.

*property of Iamthedavrezi/tumblr*

Personally I think this is a pretty cool way to express yourself. It’s just fun. That’s all it is!

Someone didn’t think so:

It all started when I was talking to one of my friends at the end of the day. I felt someone tugging at my wig, so of course I turned around and politely asked them to stop, because I didn’t want anything bad to happen to it. Apparently that was the biggest mistake that I could have made.

The girl completely snapped. She ripped my wig off of my head (thank god I didn’t have it pinned in), grabbed my real hair, and pulled me to the ground. She then started hitting me repeatedly. There are bruises on my arms and legs, scratches on my forehead, and I’m still not entirely convinced that I don’t have a small concussion….

But it doesn’t end there. After this happened a slew of hateful remarks began showing up on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, 4Chan, and even Reddit:

WHY IS THIS OK?!?!?!

It reminds me of so many things that have been in the news – Amanda Todd, who killed herself after being bullied online by someone she thought she could trust online. Rebecca Sedwick committed suicide at the age of 12 after no less than 15 girls bullied her. Of those girls, two were indicted and later charges were dropped against them.Megan Meier killed herself just a couple of weeks shy of her 14th birthday. Her mother found her hanging by a belt in her closet. Later is was discovered a parent of a classmate may have been behind the bullying online and she was later acquitted.

And then there is Matthew Shepard, brutally murdered in 1998, his body left tied to a fence after he was tortured and beaten. Just for being gay. Both attackers are serving a life sentence.

These for cases are only a tiny cross-section of the effect bullying has on our children.

Look around your own community or family. Are there kids you know that have been or are being bullied? I can bet you there are. And at that same token I can bet there are also bullies that you may know.

I fear for my children. I fear for YOUR children. If a child – A CHILD – is hurt physically or emotionally and there is little to nothing that can or will be done about it, why? Is it bureaucracy? Laziness? Ignorance? Do parents and teachers just don’t WANT to believe it can happen to their child?

Nobody wants to think that their child is getting bullied or is a bully themselves. Look for the warning signs and DO SOMETHING about it.

2 Comments

It’s a big ugly blight on our school systems and the adults still have a tendancy to brush it off. I was shocked and appalled as you know that my 5 year old in KINDERGARTEN a few days into school experienced several young girls calling another classmate fat and making fun of her. My daughter new it was wrong and not only didn’t participate, but defended the little girl as well as privately discussed it with the teacher. Now the little girls doing it are all friends and it doesn’t happen anymore. a few months after that my daughter was punched by a boy who didn’t like that she was telling him to stop talking so that SHE didn’t get in trouble, which was exactly what she had been directed to do by ME the day before because her teacher had chastised her for talking to much. I was told he lost a recess, AFTER no contact from anyone at the school I had to go in and find the teacher who would not return my calls. I was then told that “B talks a lot” when I confronted her about the boy punching her. WTF does that have to do with him assaulting my 5 year old? The principal then told me he wanted me to understand the boys point of view. OK. I was willing to listen. he then stated. “B didn’t ask him to just stop once, she adamantly kept repeating herself” ok…. so she asked him to stop. he didn’t respect that and so she had to KEEP asking, he didn’t like what she had to say and hit her. I got that right? what happens when we add ten years to their age and play that scenario over? What kind of message are these adults who we entrust our children sending? It is so disturbing. I then months later got a call from her teacher saying a boy exposed himself to her during music class, his parents had been notified and he was being disciplined. I then talk to her and he didn’t do any such thing he pulled his shirt up and showed her his belly button. They never asked. this kid got punished for something he didn’t even do! The kids are the ones doing most of the teasing, but its the school system that allows it and in our case is a huge part of the problem. We as parents definitely need to stand up against it as well as teach our kids how to be good humans.

No matter what your opinion is of someone else’s lifestyle and/or fashion choices, it is NEVER ok to physically or emotionally abuse another person.
What is being taught in these teens/tweens homes that makes them think that this behavior is even acceptable? If I ever found out my child was bullying another child, they would have every privilege revoked possible and I would make them personally apologize in public to that child.
We need to send a message to our OWN children first and foremost. We are the front runners and we need to accept responsibility for their behavior.
Racism of any kind is taught in the home. No one is born that way.

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